Valhalla Rising - No Spoiler Review The Year is 1000AD and a warrior of unparalleled strength is held captive by a Norse Clan Chieftain, and used to fight against other warriors, from other Clans. The Warrior is a mute called One Eye, due to a battle scar covering his left eye. After fighting, One Eye is returned to his cage and approached only by a small boy who feeds and tends to the mysterious man. When One Eye orchestrates an escape with an old arrow head, he leaves the hills where he has been imprisoned and travels with his new young companion away from what he has known. When he comes across a band of Christian soldiers he travels with them to an unknown land, where the Christians are intent on converting any heathens they encounter, but it seems One Eye just wants to be alone. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Valhalla Rising is typical of his ethereal style which leaves much to the imagination, and quite often leaves you wondering, what the hell went on there? And in VH, there is a lot of that!! Refn directed the brilliant Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, and it is one of the most beautifully shot films Ive ever seen, and Gosling is perfectly cast as the brooding, violent anti-hero. And in VH, the casting of Mads Mikkelsen is equally as inspired, but where as Drive benefits from its leading man speaking and we at least get a little more inkling of what his end game is! VH rising does have some striking cinematography, starkly emphasising the bleakness of the Nordic landscapes in which the film is set. But for me theres just too much bleakness all round and the story and direction of the film seems to be something that is 90% in the watchers imagination, and for me thats too much. Another thing that is heralded on the front of the DVD box is the intense level of brutality in the fighting scenes and its ferocity throughout the film, sorry, but I dont see it. There is one scene at the start of the film, that I was hoping would be the standard for the rest, but it wasnt! Its a shame, this could have been so much better if Refn had just told us a little more about One Eye, and let us engage with him a bit more, by the end, I wasnt bothered! 1 out of 5 Axes Cert 18 93 Minutes youtube/watch?v=Qpv5SUh0w7w
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:05:21 +0000
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